Roasted Thanksgiving Salad

If you were to put the taste of Thanksgiving in a healthy salad that's perfect for lunch, this roasted salad is what you're looking for.

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 40

Total Time 1

Servings

Calories 345kcal

Heat oven to 425°F. Place the cut sweet potatoes, parsnips and onion in a large bowl. Toss with 3 tablespoon of the olive oil and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Spread evenly onto a large cookie sheet. Roast for 15 min, then toss the vegetables, and roast for an additional 15 min or until vegetables start to brown and are tender. While the vegetables are roasting, prepare the quinoa.
Bring 2 cups of water and ½ teaspoon of salt to a boil in a saucepan. Whisk the rinsed quinoa into the boiling water, add cinnamon, cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 15-20 min.
Combine ¼ cup olive oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, dijon mustard and ½ teaspoon salt in a jar. Shake to emulsify.
Toss the vegetables, quinoa, thyme, sage, rosemary, apples, and dressing together in a large bowl. Add pepitas just before serving warm or at room temperature.

Be consistent with your diced vegetables. You want them to cook in the same amount of time. If you decide to dice the vegetables at 1 inch instead of ½ inch, just keep in mind they'll take longer to cook.
Mix and match your vegetables. If you don't like parsnips, use carrots. And as I mentioned above, butternut squash or pumpkin are great substitutes for sweet potatoes. Or even russet potatoes.
By placing all of the dressing ingredients in a jar, it is much quicker/easier to emulsify rather than whisking.
Serve at room temperature. This is a salad that is best served at room temperature or even warm. If making ahead, just pull out of the fridge one hour before serving.